SHORTLISTED FOR THE SAMUEL JOHNSON PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2014 WINNER OF THE BANC
ROFT PRIZE 2015 One morning in 1805, off a remote island in the South Pacific, s
eal hunter and abolitionist Captain Amasa Delano climbed aboard the Tryal, a dis
tressed Spanish slaver. He spent all day on the ship, sharing food and water, ye
t failed to see that the slaves, having slaughtered most of the crew, were now t
heir own masters. Later, when Delano realized the deception, he chased the ship
down, responding with barbaric violence.
